Eblana was naturally curious about the current situation with the sisters, Kurome and Akame, but she was also deeply preoccupied with how to manage the additional territory and personnel she now controlled.
It wasn't that she'd never been a leader before, but in the past, her role had been more of a symbolic figurehead.
She never had to involve herself in the nitty-gritty of administration; at most, she would issue orders, and all the headaches that followed would be handled by others.
But here, she could rely only on herself.
Her only comfort came each night when, unnoticed by anyone, she could sneak off to nuzzle against Mobius for a little relief.
Unfortunately, this time Mobius had refused to step in and help manage anything, truly acting only as a Doctor driven by personal interest.
Eblana had originally hoped that with Mobius's arrival, not only would she gain a talent in medicine and biology, but she could also offload all the administrative work onto her…
It seemed, though, that this time Mobius was dead set on making Eblana handle leadership herself.
Though she sighed inwardly, her hands never stopped moving.
She made a copy of the list Najenda had given her and sent Daidara rushing it over to Chouri.
She instructed Chouri to request these individuals from the Revolutionary Army in his own name, conduct assessments on them, and then assign them to her subordinate territories.
This evaluation wasn't solely about their ideals. As she'd said before, Eblana trusted Najenda's judgment.
The assessment was more crucial for determining their actual capabilities—whether they could help her take over those territories smoothly.
She certainly didn't want to send people over only to have the territories deteriorate under their watch.
At the same time, she needed the members of Night Raid to protect these new talents once they arrived, ensuring they stayed alive.
The barons and viscounts there would hardly be pleased to see outsiders dropped in to oversee and potentially sideline them.
Though they wouldn't dare defy Eblana openly for fear of her military might, these new appointees lacked that same deterrent.
It wouldn't be strange at all if they met with some "unfortunate accident" arranged by the nobles.
Later, Eblana could certainly make an example of someone to show the nobles her temper and absolute authority, but that would be small consolation for the wasted talent of those already lost.
Najenda's personnel list brought Eblana extra work, and it was bound to affect her military advance in three days' time.
Eblana had to weigh the two priorities, and the conclusion came quickly: the attack in three days could not be changed.
While she was busy managing her territories, Esdeath would be relentlessly amassing strength and forces.
Given the need for caution, Night Raid couldn't afford to split its personnel now.
Though Eblana's power, through her manipulations and unique advantages, had grown stronger than before, it still couldn't extend its reach across the entire Empire.
Even if Esdeath's [Ice Cavalry] was primarily a mob-clearing skill with limited effectiveness against powerful individuals, that was only in the original story, where Esdeath created the ice cavalry on the spot and detonated them immediately.
After so many days had passed, Esdeath's [Ice Cavalry] was definitely not going to be limited to clearing weak foes like in the original.
Eblana even suspected that Esdeath might have the ability to concentrate the power of the [Ice Cavalry], shifting it from an area-of-effect attack to a focused, single-target assault.
Although the Death Fire had shown visible growth within the Servants of Lamentation' bodies during this time, and Eblana was confident she could withstand Esdeath's attacks once she reclaimed it all, it was better to end things sooner rather than later.
The longer they waited, the more uncertainties could arise.
She hadn't expected Esdeath to be absent from Lavis City, but in fact, Esdeath was right there.
Just as Eblana worried about Esdeath accumulating too much power, Esdeath, while eager to continue their previous battle, was also concerned about the Death Fire burning too fiercely under Eblana's control.
Having mastered the ice cavalry and the [Ice Cavalry], Esdeath was certain that Eblana also possessed the ability to utilize dispersed Death Fire.
If Eblana were allowed to push all the way to the Imperial Capital, the Death Fire gathered from countless undead legions would be a force to be reckoned with.
Esdeath didn't believe Eblana would hold back at a critical moment.
When the tide of battle carried unknowns, Eblana wouldn't cling to preserving forces as she might have before. After all, victory was everything—what use were reserves if you lost this fight?
She was certain that if not stopped here, Eblana would slaughter her way to the Imperial Capital, leaving no survivors.
The number of ice cavalry Esdeath could create in a day was fixed. But once war began, Eblana's undead legion—with no intention of sparing lives—would grow exponentially.
In that case, Esdeath might not be able to keep up.
So… the decisive battle had to happen here.
Sitting in a spacious reception room, Esdeath's lips curved into an anticipatory smile. Then, she turned her gaze forward.
Wave, his expression dark, led six figures into the room. The group consisted of both men and women.
At their head was a young man with ash-white hair and bronze skin. He wasn't particularly tall, but his well-proportioned muscles and the fierce, X-shaped scar on his face gave him a dangerous, menacing air.
Wearing a frivolous, arrogant smile, he spoke first. "Hey, you're Esdeath, right? The Empire's so-called strongest general?"
"And you're the Minister's son… Syura, was it?"
Facing the newcomer's provocation, Esdeath replied with a smile, tilting her head slightly just as she finished speaking.
Thwip!
A dagger embedded itself in the wall less than a centimeter from her cheek.
Had she not moved, it wouldn't have caused serious injury, but it certainly would have broken the skin.
"What's with that attitude? You're just my old man's blade. Show some respect, would you?"
Syura's face showed clear displeasure. His tone held neither wariness nor respect for Esdeath, as if he saw her merely as Honest's subordinate.
Wave's expression instantly turned terrifying. Before anyone could react, his hand shot out and clamped around Syura's neck. "What did you just say to the General?"
The people behind Syura immediately grew alert, shifting into combat stances.
They didn't harbor much fear of Esdeath either.
Having spent so much time with Syura, they were mostly exposed to his boasts about Honest. In that narrative, even the Empire's great general Esdeath was nothing more than Honest's lackey.
They never expected that while Esdeath remained silent, one of her subordinates would dare be so brazen.
"Let go, you brat!" A man dressed like a ronin, Izou, placed his hand on his sword hilt, unleashing a fierce killing intent toward Wave. But before he could do more, a piercing cold seized him.
It wasn't just him. Everyone except Syura and Wave felt the frigid air at the same moment, immediately realizing their bodies were no longer obeying them.
Only when they glanced down did they notice they were completely restrained by several ice spikes. Frost was already creeping over the areas in contact with the ice.
"I don't dislike unconventional greetings."
Esdeath's voice held a note of amused interest. This wasn't politeness or anything of the sort—she was simply stating a fact.
Hearing this, Wave remembered the first gathering of the Jaegers, when Esdeath's "greeting" had been to fight them all, even sending him flying over a dozen meters with a single kick.
The smile never left her face. If her earlier anticipation had been for Eblana, now it was directed at these newcomers who had just arrived.
"Well then, before Eblana gets here, I'll use you all to work off some of this excitement."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.